


A Friendship Older than Your Civilisation, and Infinitely More Complex.

by BlueStarOfTheSouth



Category: Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Best Friends, OC!Master, POV Rory Williams
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-17
Packaged: 2019-11-16 00:14:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,591
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18083681
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueStarOfTheSouth/pseuds/BlueStarOfTheSouth
Summary: "When it's the end who do you call?""Your friends, people you trust?"It's the Doctor's funeral, where else would the Doctor's best friend be?





	1. Where else would he be?

**Author's Note:**

> Was watching some compilations and got the idea for this. Because really, fake or not, it was the Doctor's funeral.
> 
> I may revisit this, maybe rewrite the show a bit, but for now it stands alone.
> 
> Also, OC!Master, because I wanted to.
> 
> If I return to this i'll explain why the Master isn't being... the Master. But for now i'll let you imagine whatever event happened to bring him to this point.
> 
> And just because someone will ask, after Simm but before Gomez. And it shouldn't need to be said but the events of World Enough and Time, as well as most (if not all) of Missy's stuff, doesn't happen in this version of reality. At least, not in the same way as canon.
> 
> And if anyone has any good suggestions, I am totally willing to add tags to this. I am terrible at thinking of good tags to use.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Doctor's dies at the lake, shot by an astronaut of all things.
> 
> His oldest friend, his best and worst friend in the entire universe, was invited to the funeral.

“Who's that?” Amy asked out of the blue. Turning the group saw a man on the hill behind them. He was too far away to make out any details of the man.

 

“Oh, him. Don't pay him any mind.” The Doctor said, turning back to the snacks. Any further questions were put on hold by the fact that an Apollo astronaut walked out of the lake.

 

And then the Doctor was dead, shot by the astronaut, and then they were burning him. Twice Rory saw the man, once standing on the hill watching the funeral, and again when the man was leaving once the body was burned.

 

Who was he?

 

* * *

 

 

“When you know it's the end who do you call?” River asked as she looked at the blue envelope on the table.

 

“Your friends, people you trust.” Rory answered. Who else had the Doctor called? Sure, Rory knew that the Doctor had other friends, he was honestly surprised that there wasn't a few thousand people at the funeral, but it was just the three of them, and then the man that brought the fuel for the fire. The only other person was that person that stayed back.

 

“Number one, who does the Doctor trust the most?” Before Rory could answer River's question someone walked up behind them and snatched the envelope out of her hand. This was the first chance Rory had to look at them.

 

He was of average height, with red hair that was pulled back into a ponytail that left a few loose strands hanging about his blue eyes, which shone with mischief and the same thing that Rory had seen in the Doctor's eyes: age. He was old, much older than his appearance suggested. He wore a simple ensemble, light coloured pants, running shoes, and a baggy red jumper.

 

“Nearly right. The question _should_ be: who is the Doctors best friend?” His accent was hard to place, Australian maybe. More likely it was from some alien civilisation.

 

“And who are you?” Amy asked, apparently recovering a little from the Doctor's death. It was a question that Rory was also wondering, he was at the lake, and now he was here.

 

“You can call me Blue.” Rory pointedly looked at his red hair. The mischievous smile that he wore never faltered. They were interrupted by the door at the back of the diner opening... revealing the Doctor.

 

“This is cold. Even for you, this is cold.” What? How was he here? Wasn't he dead?

 

“Or 'hello' as people used to say. Just stepped out to get my special straw, it adds more fizz.” The Doctor commented, holding up a strange straw. Maybe it hadn't happened yet, this Doctor hadn't invited them all to the lake to watch him die. Rory came back to his senses just in time to see River slap the Doctor.

 

“I'm going to assume that's for something that I haven't done yet.” He commented when he recovered, rubbing his cheek.

 

“Yes it is.” River confirmed, sounding like she was holding back hitting the time traveller again.

 

“Right, looking forward to that.” He said, standing up and looking over the assembled group. The Doctor froze, however, when he saw the man standing behind them.

 

“G'day, Doctor. Lovely to see you again.” The man, Blue he had called himself, said, still grinning. The Doctor just stared at the man, trying to place the so called best friend most likely. Blue rolled his eyes, before raising a hand to his chest and tapping a simple beat.

 

_Knock knock knock knock_

 

Rory could see the blood drain from the Doctor's face at the sound, before he moved forward to stand in front of Blue.

 

“Why are you here?” It wasn't often that Rory heard the sound of steel in the Time Lord's voice, but it never failed to set him on edge.

 

“I was invited.” Blue said simply, holding his envelope up. The Doctor snatched it out of his hand and looked it over. Apparently finding nothing of note on the envelope he turned back to the red head.

 

“Really? You were invited? Is that the only reason?” Rory moved a little, ready to grab Amy and run into the Tardis, which was pretty sure was in the back room. If the Doctor didn't trust this person then there was probably a good reason.

 

“Trust me Doctor, I would _never_ miss today.” His carefree voice, which he had kept since the first word he said to them, was gone. In its place was a seriousness that could match the one the Doctor was currently using.

 

“Why? What's today that you would be here?” The Doctor demanded, standing a little closer than before.

 

“Foreknowledge is dangerous.” Blue warned. This actually made the Doctor pause for a moment.

 

“Why should I believe a single word you say?” The Doctor demanded. In return Blue slowly took the Doctor's hand and placed it on his chest.

 

“Trust me.” Once again the voice changed, now something approaching weak, nearly begging.

 

“How can I?” The Doctor's asked, now softer than it had been before. It reminded Rory of some of the patients that he worked with, people who wanted something to be real, but were scared that it would hurt them.

 

“All we've got is each other.” Whatever was said there, and Rory didn't doubt that there was a lot more to this than he was hearing, it made the Doctor step back, taking his hand with him. A moment later and he stepped aside.

 

“She's in the back.” He finally said, letting Blue walk off to where Rory was pretty sure the Tardis was.

 

“Who was he?” Amy asked, reminding the Doctor that they were all here.

 

“He's my friend. My best friend.” The sound of hope, pure naked hope, in the Time Lord's voice was strange. It, along with the conversation, said more about Blue than the Doctor may ever truly say.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the Master is Australian. Yes, the Master is ginger.
> 
> The name "Blue" is an Australian joke, referring to someone with red hair. He has red hair and is called blue, that's the joke.
> 
> The Master doesn't look like anyone in particular, just a look I made up on the spot.
> 
> If people really want I may revisit this, maybe do a few snippets of the show from this point on, but I have no plans right now. 
> 
> Also, link to the compilation that inspired this, check it out.
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ec-zy0Icis


	2. Moving right along

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some conversations in the Tardis and then off to 1969.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This wasn't that hard to get out, I found a script or something online and just copy/pasted chunks of it for the dialogue. So that was nice.
> 
> There is reason no one is questioning, at least out loud, who Blue/the Master is: River and the Doctor already know, Amy is still dealing with the whole "the Doctor is dead" thing, and Rory is smart enough to see that the Doctor trusts the man, that's enough for him. Plus the whole "the Doctor is dead" thing, that plays into it a bit.

“1969, that's an easy one! Funny, how some years are easy. Now, 1482, full of glitches.” The Doctor rambled as he prepped the Tardis for flight. Rory saw Amy and River slip away to area beneath the glass floor.

 

“Now then, Canton Everett Delaware the third. That was his name, yeah? How many of those can there be? Well, three, I suppose.” At this point the time lord turned around, and apparently noted the lack of people. “Rory, is everyone cross with me for some reason?”

 

“I'll find out.” He promised as he went down below. He arrived to hear Amy and River talking.

 

“He's still going to die.” Amy sounded so lost, so confused. He didn't blame her, seeing the Doctor die was hard enough. Seeing him upstairs and knowing what was coming was something else.

 

“We're all going to do that, Amy.” River tried to reassure her. There was one flaw in that though.

 

“We're not all going to arrange our own wake and invite ourselves.” He pointed out. “So, the Doctor, in the future, knowing he's going to die, recruits his younger self and all of us to, to what, exactly? Avenge him?” Rory had been on the Tardis long enough to understand that things were never as clear cut as they first appeared, especially with the Doctor. There _had_ to be more to this than they were seeing.

 

“Uh huh. Avenging's not his style.” River pointed out. And she was right, the Doctor wouldn't ask them to kill someone in his name. He wouldn't ask them to kill at all really.

 

“Save him.” Amy suggested, sounding hopeful. He didn't want the Doctor dead either, but Rory had to point out that...

 

“Yeah, that's not really his style either.” No, the Doctor would have worked out how to survive and then disappear for a little while. Probably turn up in their living room after this business in 1969 was dealt with and tell them all about it.

 

“We have to tell him.” Amy said as she rose to her feet. Before she could move on River stopped her.

 

“We've told him all we can. We can't even tell him we've seen his future self. He's interacted with his own past. It could rip a hole in the universe.” Yeah, Rory would rather that not happen.

 

“Yes, but he's done it before.” Amy reminded them. He hated to say it but...

  
“And in fairness, the universe did blow up.” If he had a choice Rory was voting against the universe blowing up again.

  
“But he'd want to know.” Amy insisted. To which River was quick to rebut that however.

  
“Would he? Would anyone?” And honestly, Rory didn't know. If it was him on that beach he didn't know if he would want to spend every moment from now until then dreading it. On the other hand with two hundred years surely the Doctor could work something out. Before they could continue the man in question interrupted them, laying on his stomach and looking down at them over the side.

 

“I'm being extremely clever up here, and there's no one to stand around looking impressed! What's the point in having you all?” He demanded. An affronted noise came from farther off was heard.

 

“What am I? Chopped liver?” The voice of Blue called out. The Doctor rolled his eyes before ducking back up.

 

“You're sitting, and you're not impressed. It doesn't count.” The Doctor rebutted. With that Rory returned the main floor.

 

* * *

 

 

“Time isn't a straight line. It's all bumpy wumpy. There's loads of boring stuff like Sundays and Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons.” He growled out the words 'Thursday afternoons' like they personally offended him before continuing in a more upbeat tone. “But now and then there are Saturdays. Big temporal tipping points when anything's possible. The Tardis can't resist them, like a moth to a flame. She loves a party, so I give her 1969 and NASA, because that's space in the sixties, and Canton Everett Delaware the third, and this is where she's pointing.”

 

“Washington D.C., April the eighth, 1969. So why haven't we landed?” Amy asked after reading the date and time aloud.

 

“Because that's not where we're going.” The Doctor said.

 

“Oh. Where are we going?” Rory wondered. The Doctor turned around and smiled widely.

 

“Home. Well, you two are. Off you pop and make babies. And you, Doctor Song, back to prison.” He commented as he moved past them to the chair that was occupied by Blue. Apparently deciding against moving him he just parked himself on the railing next to the chair. “And me? I'm late for a biplane lesson in 1911. Or it could be knitting. Knitting or biplanes. One or the other.”

 

“How is it that you are constantly late for everything? You have a time machine!” Blue sounded genuinely shocked and confused. The Doctor just gave him a look moment before turning back to the rest of them.

 

“What? A mysterious summons. You think I'm just going to go?” Everyone ignored Blue's cough, which sounded suspiciously like the word 'yes'. “Who sent those messages? I know you know. I can see it in your faces. Don't play games with me. Don't ever, ever think you're capable of that.”

 

“Trust me.” Blue requested as he stood up. The Doctor turned back to him, moving to stand in front of him.

 

“I want to. I really want to. But how do I know this isn't a trick?” He sounded both hopeful and distressed, Rory could tell that the Doctor really wanted to trust Blue, but it seemed history was getting in the way. Blue stood for a moment, clearly searching for words that would convince him. Eventually he seemed to settle on a choice.

 

“You can't.” He said simply. The Doctor regarded him for a moment, before shaking his head, and turning back to the group.

 

“Trust me.” Amy chipped in, repeating Blue's words.

  
“Okay.” The Doctor allowed, giving Amy a chance.

  
“You have to do this, and you can't ask why.” She told him. He moved closer, giving her a look, searching for something.

 

“Are you being threatened? Is someone making you say that?” The Doctor wondered, clearly worried for her.

 

“No.” Amy denied.

  
“You're lying.” The Doctor accused.

  
“I'm not lying.” She denied again.

  
“Swear to me. Swear to me on something that matters.” He demanded. There was a long silence, Amy searching for something that was important enough.

  
“Fish fingers and custard.” She decided on. Another moment of silence, the Doctor simply regarding her, before he relented.

  
“My life in your hands, Amelia Pond.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

“Okay, since I don't know what I'm getting into this time, for once I'm being discreet. I'm putting the engines on silent.” The Doctor said as he flipped a few levers and switches, a large grating noise echoing throughout the room for a moment before Blue flipped something, causing the room to go silent.

 

“Did you do something?” The Doctor asked, poking his head around the central column to look at Blue.

 

“Yes.” Blue returned bluntly. The Doctor simply stared in return for a moment before continuing with what he was doing.

 

“Putting the outer shell on invisible. I haven't done this in a while. Big drain on the power.” The Doctor said as he pressed some buttons and the like.

 

“You can turn the Tardis invisible?” Rory tried very hard not to think about all the times that the ability to turn the Tardis invisible would have been helpful. It didn't work.

 

“Ha.” With a flourish the Doctor pulled on a lever that made all the lights turn much brighter. Blue rolled his eyes and pulled another switch. The lights going darker than they usually were.

 

“Very nearly.” He corrected. The Doctor looked at him again, clearly noticing his adjustments.

 

“Er, did you touch something?” The Doctor asked, looking over the console for a moment to see what Blue did.

 

“You forgot to account for the current fuel levels.” With that he started pressing buttons and flipping switches, all under the eye of the Doctor.

 

“And what are you doing now?” He asked, never taking his eyes away from Blue's hands.

 

“We're dropping a massive box in the middle of a room, someone needs to ensure that the displaced wind doesn't give us away.” There was no discernible reaction when he finished, but the Doctor seemed to trust him. A moment later and they landed, the Doctor running up to the door. A quick warning and he was gone.

 

* * *

 

 

After the Doctor ran into the Tardis, which earned matching eye rolls from Blue and River, they ran out in order to help the Doctor... somehow. It seemed like a good idea at the time.

 

So here they were, standing at gun point with their hands raised. Rory noticed that while Blue had his hands raised he was still smiling. When one of the Secret Service walked a bit closer Blue gave a little wave with his fingers, mocking the man.

 

There was some back and forth on the Doctor's part, getting the situation under control. Rory ignored most of it, preferring to focus on not getting shot.

 

And then the Doctor had managed to get maps, chasing up a lead on the blue envelopes if the look he shot their way was any indication. Just as he found whatever it was that he was searching for the phone rang, and a scared little girl's voice came over the line. Just like that they were off, back into the Tardis, Canton right behind them.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the Doctor turns the Tardis invisible, so it can't be seen. He runs it on silent, so it can't be heard. But as we've seen time and time again, there is a lot of wind that is kicked up when the Tardis lands. Just calling that out.
> 
> Sorry if the end felt a bit rushed, I have this habit of hyper focusing on the scenes I feel are important, in this case the conversations inside the Tardis, and fast forwarding through the rest. Plus the story is from Rory's point of view, and there's only so much I can do stretch out "and he stood off to the side while the Doctor looked at maps". Sorry, i'll try and do better.
> 
> Also, I am not sure if this will be a complete rewrite of the entire season, probably not. Once I go through the Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon I may bounce around a bit, showing highlights of their adventures. If I do this it will be short snippets, maybe adapting one scene out of an episode, rather than do the whole thing. We'll see.


End file.
